Mango Street Post: Due Monday at 7:00

If Mango Street is a novel, and the protagonist is Esperanza. Given what Esperanza heard from the nun about her original dwelling, what she sees happening to the women around her throughout her childhood, and her desire to get out of the barrio or neighborhood, followed by her success at doing so, we can conclude that she is prejudiced against the men of her own culture and the oppression they impose upon the women and that she carries some overall shame about aspects of her Mango Street past along with some pleasant memories. It does feel like the burden of shame is heavier, however, by comparison. Therefore, my question, to all of you is: What is the central insight of this novel? What is Cisneros trying to teach her reader by having written it? Please explain. I look forward to hearing your viewpoints, and some justification/support for your ideas please.

Nye's Poetry and Identity

Aside from the poem "Kindness" in which Nye shockingly but candidly (and I think wonderfully) connects all readers with the Indian on the side of the road who could be any one of us, find at least two other specific quotations from poems in the volume Words Under the Words in which Nye attempts to connect the reader to someone or a group of people Western culture has usually deemed as Other (in Said's terms --- i.e., Oriental, Asian, Eastern, on the margins, etc.). Please quote the passage and include the line numbers and the title of the poem, and interpret the lines. Thank you. Due date: Wednesday by 4:30 p.m.

Post for Monday at 5:00 p.m. on Nye's poetry

Please select ONE of the prompts below and comment on it thoughtfully and mindfully.

1.On pages 36-37 of the text you will find the poem from which the book's title is culled. Kindly interpret the final three lines in the context of the poem, and, therefore, from their speaker's perspective; what do the lines mean literally? What is the speaker saying?
After doing this, please write another reading of the final three lines in terms of the poem's narrator. What could and do these lines mean to the narrator of the poem, given the rest of the poem and what you learn about the narrator? Finally, think about these final three lines in terms of the poet, given that she used words from these lines to title her book.
Why is the book titled Words Under the Words? How does this title work (or not work for this text)? How does this title illuminate other topics we have discussed in this course?

2. What do you learn about this Palestinian-American poet from reading this text? How is this work relevant to the issues of our class? Cite evidence from the poems for your answer.

Class Discussion Question

Examining all the stories in Lahiri's interpreter of maladies ( or at least thinking about them) , what do you think these stories argue regarding the creation of human identity?
Let me put my question in very simple terms: According to all the stories, or at least to the majority of them, what is the foundation of human identity or what makes up human identity? What are its necessary ingredients? Does Lahiri see human identity as positive or negative? As conformist or non-conformist? As all of the above or as none of the above?
When you formulate your response, make sure you have solid evidence for your perspective.
-------------------------------


What role does ethnicity play in one's identity? How important are one's religious and local origins in Lahiri's book? Explain.

Select one question and post a respsonse by Wed. at 7:00 p.m.

1. Compare and contrast at least three of the many marital relationships Lahiri refers to in the first four short stories in her book.
What do you notice? What qualities do the relationships share? What distinguishes them from each other? In light of your comparison, in one sentence (two at the most), state what you think Lahiri is revealing about marriage through her short stories.

2.Why do you think Lahiri names the second story "When Mr. Pirzada
Came to Dine" instead of "Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine." Make an arugment defending your viewpoint please. Explain.


3.Is the monkey episode necessary to the story "Interpreter of Maladies"? If so, why? If not, why not? Is there anything the episode teaches or adds that is significant and/or necessary? What would the story be lacking without it?


4.Why is Boori Ma not a "real durwan" according to the story by the same name? Explain.


5. What is the central insight of the story "A Real Durwan"? If you were Lahiri, and someone asked you why you wrote this story, what would you say? What is the purpose of this story? How can we connect to this story today? Explain.

I will post a blog question by 7:00 p.m. Monday

You will have until 7:00 p.m on Wednesday to answer one question.

Instructions for Short Paper

View Syllabus for due date.

Select one passage from any text we are reading or have read that we have not discussed in class. Do a close reading of the passage, paying careful attention to
what the diction reveals about ethnicity and identity. If possible, connect the language of the passage to parallel or contrasting language elsewhere in the text that has thematic relevance. Please make sure all of the above is connected to a clear, arguable thesis that you have articulated in your opening paragraph. Proofread the paper. The paper will be graded on the quality of your idea, evidence, development of the concept, and, needless to say, clarity of writing.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say about ethnicity, identity, or both.
Make sure to extrapolate from the text to your own ideas for at least a few paragraphs somewhere in the essay. Do not fill your pages with needless quotations. Please follow the 7th edition MLA.